The Sazerac

Before the recipe was ever printed, the sazerac—known as one of the world's oldest cocktails—was basically an elixir concocted by a New Orleans pharmacist. Antoine Amedie Peychaud, a Creole descendant of escaped slaves, had created a bitter that he'd drop into brandy and serve to guests. Soon, Peychaud's eponymous bitters were being manufactured on a larger scale and the brandy was replaced with American-made rye whiskey. By the mid 1850s, the cocktail had become immensely popular and the appeal hasn't really waned. Why should it? Straightforward and potent, it's a manly sort of tipple. And like most drinks that have stood the test of time, it's not really hard to make. The key is a proper layering of flavors. We asked Russ Bergeron, the beverage manager of New Orlean's Roosevelt Hotel, home of the famed Sazerac Bar, for their house recipe. "You want to use a good six to eight year-old rye whiskey such as Old Overholt, Rittenhouse or Sazerac, of course," says Bergeron. "And while the cocktail is traditionally made by dissolving a sugar cube, you can make the process a little easier, like we do at the bar, by substituting simple syrup." Herewith, his technique.